Take Care of Me
by happyeverafter72
Summary: Four year old Imogen Elliot's life is turned upside down when her mother is arrested and she is taken into care. Can Alex make things better for her, or will she never banish her nightmares?
1. No Home

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, apart from Imogen, Alfie, their mother and their Nana. BBC, Kudos and Monastic are the stupidly lucky people who own Ashes to Ashes.**

**Thank you very much to Jazzola for beta-ing this fic. Your support means a lot. **

**For those of you waiting for TTTH, the next update will come shortly. That is all!**

Thud!

Imogen Elliot was rudely awakened by a noise from the kitchen. She sat up, stretched and slipped out of bed. She padded out into the hall, where she was greeted by hoards of police officers.

"What's going on, Mummy?" she asked sleepily.

"Get out, Imogen," her Mum snapped.

"Your Mum's been arrested, sweetheart," said a woman she didn't know. The woman was very pretty. She had brown hair arranged in soft curls and she was wearing tight jeans, a spotty top and a white leather jacket.

"Wha'd'ya do that for?" her Mum asked angrily. "She's four, you bloody stupid woman!"

As the people continued arguing, Imogen stood in a daze. Her Mummy was being arrested. What was going to happen to her and Alfie? Would they have to go and live with their Nana? Not that being with Nana would be any different than usual. Mummy was leaving them with her.

When she came back to Earth, she saw they were leading her Mum away. "Don't go, Mummy," she pleaded, tearfully. "What's going to happen to us?"

Her Mum didn't answer, didn't even look back. Despair washed over Imogen and she cried heavily. She was vaguely aware of being hoisted into the arms of the woman who had spoken to her. She was bundled into a car with Alfie and driven away. After 20 minutes, the car stopped. She was carried into the station and sat in a room with another woman. This woman was wearing a uniform and she had short, black hair.

"Hi, I'm Shaz," the woman said. "What's your name?"

"Imogen," she responded quietly, sniffing.

"That's really pretty," Shaz said. "Would you like anything to eat?"

"Yes please," Imogen said eagerly. She hadn't had any breakfast, so she was very hungry.

Shaz took her hand and led her to the canteen. She had a bacon buttie and a glass of orange juice. Alfie had a bowl of porridge.

"Shaz," Imogen said shyly when she had finished, "what's going to happen to us?"

"I don't know, Imogen," Shaz replied. "But Ma'am's gonna speak to you soon. She'll know."

"Hello, Imogen," the woman who had picked her up said. "I'm Alex. I want to help you."

"You arrested Mummy," Imogen sniffed. "What's going to happen to me and Alfie?"

Alex looked at the little girl. She was far more perceptive than her age would suggest. "You're going to be taken into care," Alex sighed. She hated having to do this. "Your Nana can't look after you all the time."

"Ok," Imogen whispered. Her bottom lip started to quiver and she burst into tears.

Alex pulled Imogen onto her lap and hugged her. Holding her close, Alex murmured "It'll be ok. I promise."

After a few minutes a man entered the room. He was wearing a grey suit and he looked angry. Alex looked up at him. "Yes, Gene?" she said.

"Social services are 'ere," was the gruff reply. "They ready?"

Alex set Imogen on her feet and picked up a snoozing Alfie. She took Imogen's hand and led her to the entrance of the station. A group of people were waiting there for them.

A woman bent down to Imogen. She had a pudgy face and wore very bright clothes. "Hello, sweetheart," she said in a high pitched voice. "We're going to take you away so we can look after you. Do you understand?"

Imogen felt Alex gently squeeze her hand. "Yes, I understand," she said.

As she was led away, she heard Alex say "look after her. She's special."

So they were driven away by the new group of people. After 10 minutes, Fenchurch Care Home loomed large ahead. Imogen shivered as she was taken inside.

She was shown to a room that she was told would be hers and Alfie's. Although some of their things were there, it didn't feel as though they belonged.

She picked her teddy from the top of one box and hugged him to her chest, sighing. She had felt safe with Shaz and Alex at the police station. Now she was all alone in a new and scary place.


	2. Nightmare

**Sorry for the delay in uploading this! I work 3 days a week now, so I am struggling slightly to fit in my writing.**

**Thanks again to my wonderful beta-reader, Jazzola. This chapter was improved (hopefully!) by you guidance.**

_Darkness surrounded Imogen. She could see a man in the distance, running towards her. She tried to run away, but her legs wouldn't work. The man came closer. He reached out to grab her._

She woke up suddenly, her heart pounding and her breaths coming in short gasps. She was in her bed in the home. She breathed deeply, trying to calm herself down. There was no one here that she could run to. Shivering, she held her teddy tighter.

She closed her eyes, hoping that the nightmare wouldn't return. Eventually she drifted back to sleep, but she remained restless. All night she drifted in and out of consciousness, unable to shake the remembrance of the unknown man.

Imogen had been asked to go to the head care worker's office. She didn't know why, and she hoped it wasn't anything bad. The walk seemed to take forever, even though the two rooms weren't that far apart. When she got there she knocked quietly on the door and reached slowly for the handle.

A familiar and very welcome face awaited her when she stepped into the office. "Alex," she cried, rushing forward. Alex scooped her up, instantly making her feel safer.

"Hey, you," Alex said affectionately. "How would you like to go out somewhere today?"

"I'd love to," Imogen replied, snuggling up to Alex's shoulder. "Can I? Please?"

"Is that ok?" Alex asked the head care worker.

"I don't see why not."

Alex put Imogen back down. She grinned widely and ran to her room.

"Alfie, Alfie," she cried breathlessly. "Alex is taking us out!"

Alfie squealed in delight and bounced up and down. "Yay! 'Lex!" he shouted.

Imogen grabbed her teddy from her bed and took Alfie's hand. Together they walked back to the office.

Alex took Imogen and Alfie to a park. They went on the swings, played Frisbee and had hotdogs for lunch. It was the most fun Imogen had had in ages.

After they had finished eating, Alex showed Imogen how to make a daisy chain. It felt to Imogen like something she should have been able to do with her mother, but she knew that if she had asked her Mum to do something like this she would have been shouted at to 'piss off and stop being a pain in the arse.' She looked up at Alex and smiled. In two days it was as if she had found a proper mother after four years with a lousy one.

"Thank you, Alex," Imogen said, hugging her around the waist. "We never do things like this with Mummy."

Alex hugged Imogen back. "You're welcome, sweetheart," she said warmly. "I had fun too."

Imogen smiled and relaxed in Alex's embrace. Her nightmares seemed very far away.

They stayed out until 3 o'clock, talking and laughing and playing. It felt like worlds apart from the life Imogen had know with her Mum. She had begun to feel tired, but it was still with a heavy heart that she walked back into the care home.

She threw herself into Alex's arms when it was time to say goodbye. "Please don't leave," she whispered tearfully. "I want to stay with you."

Alex held Imogen tightly, rubbing small circles on her back. "Shhhh, baby," she murmured. "I'll be back soon. I wish you could stay with me too."

Imogen was lifted from Alex's arms by one of the care workers. Through a blur of tears, she saw Alex leaving and waved to her. Then she was carried off, unable to see whether Alex waved back.

When she was in bed that night, Imogen thought about her day. She had had a brilliant time with Alex. She hoped there would be lots more days like that.

She settled down with her teddy, listening to Alfie's snuffly sleep breathing. While he dreamed about all the good things in the day, she waited for the nightmares to come.


	3. Police Questioning

**Thank you very much to all the lovely reviewers and my brilliant beta, Jazzola. You guys keep me going through my writer's block :)**

3 days later, Imogen slouched into the sitting room in the morning to see one of the older girls slumped on a sofa. She quickly scanned her brain for the girl's name.

"Morning, Crystal," she said.

Crystal turned round and looked at her. "You was the one 'oo went out wiv that police woman, wasn't you?"

"Yeah," Imogen replied. "I like her. So does Alfie."

"Bit of advice, yeah," Crystal said. "You don't wanna talk to no pigs. They'll mess you up."

"No!" Imogen shouted. "Alex isn't like that!"

"Wha'ever you say," Crystal muttered, shrugging. "Don't come runnin' to me when it all goes wrong."

Alex regarded Imogen's mother with cold, hard eyes. The woman was utterly detestable. She had bleached blond hair scraped back into a ponytail, stained teeth, pasty skin and slutty clothes. She didn't look like someone's mother.

"Can we get on with this?" the woman's voice cut through the silence.

"Alright, Miss Elliot," Alex said icily, trying to keep her anger in check. "Can you tell us about your business?"

"It's Mel, alrigh'," she responded. "An' there's nothin' ter tell. It's club. Completely legit."

Gene stormed across the room and slammed his fists onto the table. "Cut the crap," he shouted angrily. "We found the bloody drugs, Mel. Shit loads of 'em. So talk!"

"Alright, so we gave a few o' the pun'ers drugs," Mel conceded. "But it never started out like that."

"What happened?" Alex encouraged her.

"We wasn't makin' enough money, so James said we should give 'em a bit extra," she continued. "Drugs, girls, whatever they wanted. But James, 'e was goin' crazy with the money. There was this one bloke who kept on not payin' up, so James said 'e was gonna do sumink."

"What did he do, Mel?" Alex asked, afraid of what the answer might be.

"He killed 'im," Mel said. "Di'n't mean to. Only meant to rough 'im up a bit, but 'e killed 'im."

"Were you involved with the death?" Gene cut in.

"No. No, me 'n' Adam had nothin' to do with it," she responded quickly.

"Do you children know about any of this?" Alex asked coldly. She prayed that they didn't.

"Nah, they don't know nothin' about it," Mel said, shrugging. "They've seen me an' the boys 'avin' a spliff at the 'ouse, but that's it. Couldn't 'ave 'em around when I was workin'. They'd only bugger things up."

Alex breathed a sigh of relief. This was good news. Very good.

Just then there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Gene shouted.

Shaz stuck her head round the door. "Can I have a word, Ma'am?"

Alex left her seat and went outside, grateful to be away from Mel. "Yes, Shaz," she said. "What's wrong?"

"I've just had social services on the phone, Ma'am," Shaz began. "Imogen and Alfie are being brought over. They wanna see their Mum."

"Oh shit," Alex muttered. She stuck her back into the interview room. "Gene, will you come out here for a minute?" she said.

"Yeah, Bols?" he muttered when the door had closed behind him.

"Imogen and Alfie are coming in to see her," she wailed. "I know she's their mother, but I don't want them anywhere near her, Gene."

Gene pulled Alex into his arms and softly kissed her forehead. "Shhhhh, sweetheart," he murmured. "You're doin' a wonderful thing. But she's their Mum, they need her."

"I know," she whispered. "I just want them to be safe."

"It'll be alright, Alex," he murmured back. "They'll be alright. I love you." He kissed her again.

"I love you too, Gene," she mumbled into his chest.

Alex and Gene were waiting by the front desk when Imogen and Alfie were brought in. Imogen noticed that the two adults were holding hands, but she didn't say anything. She just smiled to herself and started imagining their wedding.

"Hello," the social worker said, breaking through her thoughts. "I'm Kirsten, the children's social worker."

Alex released Gene's hand and stepped forward. "I'm DI Drake and this is DCI Hunt. We're investigating the case."

Alfie had now begun to get impatient. "Where Mummy?" he demanded, wriggling about in Kirsten's arms.

"Yes, let's get on with it shall we," Kirsten said frostily. It was clear that she disapproved of the situation.

They set off through the corridors. Imogen was able to look around this time. They passed lots of doors, some lockers and a cloakroom before they reached the room they were looking for.

Any illusion of safety that Alex's presence had created for Imogen evaporated the second she saw her Mum. Suddenly she was frightened and desperately wanted to hide.

"What the 'ell are they doin' here?" Mel shouted at Alex.

Imogen's vision blurred with tears. "Mummy," she whispered, "don't you want us?"

"No," Mel spat. "Just piss off and leave me alone. This is all your fault!"

Imogen stood stunned for a few seconds, and then she ran. She flew through the corridors, barely able to see through her tears. She heard Alex shouting after her, but she didn't stop. She ran to the entrance then curled up in a little ball on the top step and sobbed. It was in this way that Alex and Gene found her.

"Oh, Imogen," Alex sighed sadly, laying a gentle hand on her back.

Imogen uncurled and fell into Alex's outstretched arms. She clung to Alex fiercely and wept onto her shoulder. "She doesn't care, Alex," she wailed. "She's my Mummy and she doesn't love me."

"It's ok, darling," Alex murmured soothingly. "You're safe now." She pressed a light kiss to Imogen's hair.

Gene watched for five minutes as Alex cradled Imogen. It was clear to him that Alex was meant to be a mother, and that Imogen utterly adored and needed her. What was more, Alex had been right. The kids shouldn't be around their mother. Mel obviously couldn't care less about them. Somehow, he had to put this right.

Kirsten arrived at the entrance. She was still carrying Alfie, who was looking very upset. She put him down and he ran to Imogen.

"Immy," he said. "Ok?"

Imogen wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. "Yes, Alfie. I'm ok," she said and reached out to give him a hug.

"Love Immy," he mumbled.

"Love you too, Alfie," she replied.

Meanwhile, Gene was talking to Kirsten. "Listen, Kirsten," he said. "I've an idea."

"I'm listening," she replied.

"Well, it's clear that Mel couldn't give a shit about the kids," he began. "But what do you see there?" He gestured to Alex as he said this.

"A mother," Kirsten breathed. "She's a natural."

Gene nodded. "Exactly."

Kirsten moved forward to stand next to Alex. "You and I need to have a chat, DI Drake," she said.

Imogen bounded through the doors of the care home that afternoon. She went straight to her and Alfie's room and started shoving things into cases for them. One of the care workers came in to help and they were soon finished.

She saw Crystal as she was walking back out. "You're wrong, Crystal," she said. "Alex is making everything ok."

Crystal shrugged and walked off. Imogen continued on her way out.

Alex was waiting outside with Alfie. "Ready, Imogen?" she asked, reaching her hand out.

"Yep," Imogen replied, taking the proffered hand. "Let's go."


	4. Making Things Right

**Thanks once again to the fabulous Jazzola for being my beta. Without you, this story would be rubbish!**

As a crack of thunder sounded directly overhead, Imogen sat bolt upright in bed. She'd had another nightmare. Breathing deeply and clutching her teddy, she shuffled through to the lounge. Alex was still up watching the TV.

"Alex," she said shyly, "I had a nightmare."

"Come here, sweetie," Alex said, lifting Imogen up onto her lap. "Were you scared?"

Imogen nodded. "Very scared."

"It's alright," Alex soothed her, holding her tightly. "It's nothing to be ashamed of." This reminded Alex of when Pete left and Molly had nightmares about him coming back and taking her away.

They sat in silence for some minutes. Imogen's breathing returned to normal and she started to feel sleepy again.

"Do you want to go back to bed now?" Alex asked.

Imogen nodded, so Alex picked her up and carried her back to bed. "Will you read me a story?" she asked, as Alex tucked her in.

"Which story would you like?" Alex asked.

Imogen chose 'The Tiger Who Came to Tea'. Alex sat on the edge of the bed and Imogen cuddled up to her side.

As Alex read, Imogen's eyes became heavier and heavier. She eventually dropped off and, for the first time, the nightmares stayed away.

In the morning, Imogen padded into the kitchen to see Alex sat at the table. Alex looked different than usual. She was wearing old slacks and a baggy jumper and her hair wasn't styled. It was different, but still nice.

She turned her head when Imogen entered the room. "Morning," she said. "Did you sleep ok?"

"Yes thanks," Imogen replied. "No more nightmares."

Alex hugged her briefly, and then whisked off to wake Alfie up and bring him through for breakfast.

As Imogen munched on some toast, she took the time to fully survey her surroundings. Alex's flat was much more modern than their old house had been. She loved all the red and white features and especially the stripy sofa. It was quite small, but that made it cosier.

She looked over at Alfie, who seemed thoroughly engrossed in making a mess with the jam. "Do you like it here, Alfie?" she asked.

Alfie nodded vigorously. "Nice," he said. "Love 'Lex."

Alex smiled and looked down nervously. "So would you like to stay here?" she asked slightly awkwardly. "I know it's a bit cramped and you're not used to it, but I'd love to have you here."

Imogen looked back at Alfie briefly, but she didn't have to think about her answer for a second. "We'd love to stay with you, Alex," she replied, tears forming in her eyes.

Alex enveloped Imogen in a hug. "In that case," she said, "we've got things to do."

Half an hour later, a loud knock at the door signified a welcome visitor.

"I'll get it," Imogen shouted, running to the door.

"Hi, Imogen," Gene said, looking slightly surprised. "Alex called me. You 'er assistant now?"

Imogen giggled as they heard Alex shout from the other room "I'm in here, Gene."

They walked through and Gene sat on the sofa next to Alex. "What's up then, Bols?" he asked gruffly.

"The kids want to stay with me," Alex responded, smiling broadly. "So I thought I'd better introduce you properly."

"We already know him, Alex," Imogen interrupted.

"But he's much more important than you know," Alex said, wrapping her arms around Gene. "Gene's my partner. Think you can manage to get along?"

"I don't think that's gonna be a problem," Gene said, winking at Imogen.

"Good," Alex replied. "I'm going out."

Before Gene could protest, she kissed his cheek and made for the door.

Alex sat in Kirsten's office feeling extremely nervous. This was it, the moment she had been working towards all day. She prayed that Kirsten would see how she cared for the kids. They couldn't stay in the home a moment longer. A stable family environment was what they needed. She knew that Molly would have supported her, were she able to join her. She missed her daughter, but she hoped she would be given a new start.

"So, Alex," Kirsten's voice broke through her thoughts. "Have you made up your mind?"

"Yes, I have," Alex answered straight away. "I want Imogen and Alfie to stay with me. I know that's what they want too. Gene and I can provide a safe, stable environment."

"That's wonderful," Kirsten replied, beaming. "You have no idea how difficult it is to place 2 children together. We'll get the forms drawn up now."

The whole process was gone through in a matter of hours, a fact which astonished Alex. She had always assumed that it took much longer. She left building feeling as though she was floating on air. At last she was getting a second chance at motherhood. She would give Imogen and Alfie all the attention she had never been able to give Molly. Her career would no longer be the central focus of her life. And, most importantly, she would have the support of a partner. Gene wouldn't run. She knew it.

This was confirmed by the scene that met her when she walked into her flat. Gene was sat on the sofa with Alfie snoozing in his lap. Imogen was snuggled up to his side, telling him about the time she went into outer space with her teddy.

Alex stood watching them in the doorway. This was going to be perfect.


	5. New Life

**Thanks once again to the fabulous Jazzola for being my beta-reader. You're an absolute star :)**

It was 7:30am. Imogen leapt out of bed and bounded into Gene and Alex's room. "It's today, it's today!" she shouted excitedly.

They were both sat up in bed already and they laughed. "We know, sweetheart," Alex said. "Go downstairs and I'll come and get you some breakfast."

Imogen hugged Alex then ran off down the stairs to settle herself in the lounge. She loved their new house. It was big, modern and had a great garden. It had almost felt too big when they arrived, but it hadn't taken them long to make it feel like a home. Most of all, she loved that they were all living together; it was much better than when Gene had just visited.

Today was going to be her first day at school. She was very excited, but also quite nervous. Alex had taken her shopping for all the things she would need and they had talked about what it was going to be like. As she sat on the sofa she thought about all the things Alex had said. This made her feel a bit better.

Everyone else came downstairs and Alex got Imogen some juice in her _Rainbow_ mug and a bowl of cereal. Imogen ate her breakfast quickly and went to get ready. She brushed her teeth carefully and then put on her white blouse and light grey pinafore. Surveying herself in the mirror, she could see she looked very smart. As she was putting her shoes on in the hall, Alfie was strapped into his buggy. They were ready to go.

Imogen held Gene's hand as they walked down the road. She felt ok until they got to the school gates. It was then that the nerves set in. She kissed Alfie and gave Gene a hug, and then she walked into the building with Alex.

The school building was two stories high and made entirely of red brick. This gave it an old fashioned, imposing look. This was counteracted, however, by the presence of a climbing frame in the playground. Imogen's classroom itself was rather small and the walls were painted bright yellow. There were tables dotted around in the centre of the room, and one corner was filled with cushions and beanbags and had a bookcase down one side.

Lots of children had already arrived and were clustered in the classroom. Some were sat at the tables getting to know each other, while others were still saying goodbye to their tearful mothers.

Alex crouched down so she was on Imogen's level. "This is it, then," she said, remembering when she had done this with Molly. "You're a big girl now. Time to be brave."

"I don't feel very brave," Imogen replied, sniffing slightly.

"You'll be fine," Alex told her. "Everyone else feels exactly the same as you."

Imogen took a deep breath and nodded. Alex pulled her into a hug. "Bye, Imogen," she said.

"Bye, Mummy," Imogen whispered.

Alex tried hard to concentrate on her work. There had been a spate of armed robberies and they were getting close to the culprit. She knew her mind should be on the job, but it just kept drifting. _Snap out of it, Alex, _she thought. _It was clearly just a slip of the tongue._

Her thoughts were interrupted by Gene speaking to her from the door of his office. "A word, Bols," he grunted.

"Yes, Gene?" she said breezily once the door was shut behind them.

"Yer not concentratin' on yer work," she said. "An' you need to sort it out, or I'll send yer home. So what's this about?"

"Imogen called me 'Mummy' this morning," she said. "I know it was just an accident, but I so wanted her to mean it."

"Alex," Gene sighed. "Of course she meant it. Anyone can see you mean the world to those kids."

"Really?" she responded.

"Of course," he said. "Now get on wi' some bloody work."

Imogen had really not wanted this to happen. The class had been told to talk about what their parents did. She thought hard about what she would say while she listened to the others. When it was finally her turn she stood up and went to the front, trying her best to be confident.

"My real Mummy was arrested in the spring," she began. "But my new Mummy and Daddy are police officers."

The teacher, Mrs Nicols, looked surprised at this. "Are you adopted, Imogen?" she asked.

Imogen nodded. "Alex saved me and Alfie," she said.

Mrs Nicols motioned for her to sit back down. The girl next to her nudged her and whispered "I'm Ellie. Let's be friends." She was a dainty little girl with light brown hair and a warm smile.

"Ok," Imogen whispered back. She smiled to herself. She had never had a proper friend before and it was a nice feeling.

Imogen dashed out of the school building with Ellie as soon as Mrs Nicols said they could go. She saw Alex waiting in the playground and ran over to her.

"Hey," Alex greeted her, scooping her up. "How was your day?"

"It was great," Imogen replied, beaming. "This is my friend Ellie."

"Hi, Ellie," Alex said warmly. "I'm Alex."

Just then, Ellie spotted her Mum across the playground. "Nice to meet you, Alex," she said hurriedly. "See you tomorrow, Immy." And she ran off, waving to them behind her.

"Let's go home, shall we?" Alex said.

Imogen nodded and then lapsed into thought. Finally, she said "Alex, can I call you 'Mummy'?"

Alex felt tears well up in her eyes as she nodded. "Of course you can, sweetheart," she said, hugging Imogen tighter and kissing her on the cheek. "That would be wonderful."


	6. Release

**I'm sorry this has taken me so long to upload! I hope you enjoy it.**

_15 years later_

Imogen Hunt sat on the train, idly fiddling with the headphone jack on her cd player. Her mobile bleeped on the table next to it. A text from Ellie. _Do u fancy meetin up while ur bak? _She quickly typed a reply. _Yeh. Call u l8r._ Truth was, she didn't know if she'd be able to.

She pushed all thoughts of what lay ahead to the back of her mind as her station approached. She slipped her cd player and phone into her handbag and retrieved her holdall.

She hailed a taxi as she stumbled out of the station. "27 Little Venice, Fenchurch," she directed the driver.

It took about 10 minutes to get to the house. When she stepped through the front door, she was hit by the mingling scents of her Mum's perfume and her Dad's cigarettes. Shaking her head in mock disgust, she carried her bags up the stairs to her bedroom.

After she had dropped her things, she stuck her head around Alfie's bedroom door. His room looked as though a bomb had hit it, same as it always did. That was definitely a way in which she differed from her brother. She liked to keep her room as tidy as she could manage, so that she could always find her things. He, on the other hand, seemed to function best when surrounded by mess.

She wandered back downstairs and checked the bus timetable on the kitchen notice board. "Half an hour to kill," she muttered to herself as she went to make a cup of tea.

"Oi! You can't just walk in here!" the desk sergeant barked as Imogen made to head off down the corridor. He was young looking and Imogen didn't recognise him. He must be new, she realised.

"Sorry," she said. "I usually just walk through. I'm here to see DCI and DI Hunt."

"I can't just let you go off," the sergeant replied. "I'll have to take your name and phone CID."

"I'm Imogen, their daughter," she sighed.

Just then, a voice behind her said "Bloody 'ell! Descended from on 'igh, 'ave yer?"

She laughed at this. "Nice to see you too, Raymondo," she said, turning to face him.

"Come on, I'll take you ter the office," Ray replied, chuckling slightly.

They walked off down the familiar network of corridors. CID was just as it had always been. Shaz was sat hunched over her desk, filling in a pile of paperwork while Chris watched her from the other side of the room. The shadow of Imogen's Dad could be seen stalking up and down his office at the end of the room. And there, perched behind her desk on the right hand side, was Imogen's Mum.

"Hi, Mum," she said breezily.

"Immy, you're back," Alex cried, moving round to embrace her daughter. "You should've told us what time. How was the journey?"

"It was ok," Imogen replied, shrugging. "Had a text from Ellie. She wants to meet up."

"We'll see how it goes," Alex responded.

"Hey, look who's 'ere," came the strident Mancunian tone of Imogen's Dad from the door of his office. "Why didn't you tell us what time you were arriving, you dozy mare?"

Imogen giggled. "Hi, Dad," she said. "Sorry. So, how is everyone?"

After dinner that night, the family were sat in the lounge. Alex and Gene were snuggled up together on the sofa, half heartedly watching the TV. Imogen and Alfie were sat on the floor facing each other over a box, whilst their little sister, Megan, lounged on the other sofa.

Alfie had grown tall and skinny. His dusty blond hair flopped into his eyes and he spent a lot of time flicking it out of the way. Megan was a perfect combination of her parents. She could charm anyone with her dazzlingly blue eyes and she was far more style-conscious than the average 10 year old.

Imogen and Alfie were reviewing the contents of the box between them. Imogen took out that she had written and began to read.

_Dear Mum,_

_I know neither of us have written for ages, but we have been really busy. Not that it matters much, as we won't be able to see you until you're out._

_Alfie is taking his GCSEs this year and he's really nervous. He needn't be, we know he'll be brilliant._

_I'm taking my final a-level exams and I'm hoping to go uni to study psychology. The grade requirements are high, but I've had lots of support from Alex._

_I think I can probably guess how you're doing. I wish you'd let us see you. We still miss you, but we've become more realistic in our expectations. We know we'll never be able to live with you again and that's fine. We just want to know you're ok._

_Yours,_

_Imogen._

Next, she took out a letter she had written when she was five. It said simply this:

_To Mummy,_

_I love you._

_From Imogen XXX_

She looked up when she had finished and saw that Alfie was brushing away a tear. "Are you ok?" she asked him.

"Yeah," he replied. "I just don't know whether I can handle seeing her. I don't even remember her, and all I'm going to get is a few minutes. That's all I'll have of my mother."

"It'll be fine," she responded. "If she's still like I remember, then you won't want to know her."

"You never know, Imogen," Alex chipped in. "She might have changed."

"I hope so," Imogen replied. "But I'm not holding my breath."

The next morning they made the 30 minute journey to the prison and clustered nervously outside. Imogen didn't want anyone to know, but she had slipped her old teddy into her bag for reassurance. If she was honest, she knew she shouldn't still have him, but he had always been there.

They waited for what felt like years, but finally Mel stepped out.

"Mummy," Imogen gasped, gripping Alfie's hand. Any confidence that she had felt melted, and she felt just as she had when she ran from her mother to the station steps when she was four.

Slowly, Imogen and Alfie advanced on their mother. Mel seemed hesitant, as if fearful of how they would react to her.

"Hello, Mum," Imogen said quietly. Alfie remained silent at her side.

"I don't deserve to be called that," Mel responded. "I never really wan'ed kinds, an' I lost yer because of it. Look at both of yer. I'd only 'ave 'eld yer back."

"We wanted to know you were alright," Imogen said, her mouth dry. "And to give you these. You've missed almost our whole lives."

"I know," Mel said, nodding sadly. She briefly looked at some of the photos in the box. "I'm so sorry. An' I know there's nothin' I can do."

"Mum," Alfie said, "There is something you can do. Let us get to know you, be a mother again."

"I can't take the risk, Alfie," she replied. "Imogen can vouch for it. I'm shit. I'll only mess it up."

Alfie looked at his sister. She nodded sadly. "I'm sorry, Alfie. It's true."

Mel walked slowly towards the assembled group behind her children. Imogen and Alfie turned and followed her.

Mel stood in front of Alex and smiled at her. "Thank you," she said, "for givin' 'em a child'ood. You're their Mum, not me."

With that, she turned and stalked away, Adam shambling in her wake. Not once did she look back.

That night the family went to Luigi's, accompanied by Ellie. The Italian had been so pleased at the outcome that he had foolishly allowed them drinks 'on the house'.

When they had finished eating, Imogen whispered something to Alfie and they stood up. "It was an important day for us today," Imogen began, "and we couldn't have got through it without all of you. You've supported us over the last 15 years, and God knows how. We love you all."

"To family," Alfie finished, raising his glass.

"Family," everyone chorused.

Alex also got to her feet and moved round the table. She guided the two children away towards the bar. "I just wanted to say," she said, "that I'm really proud of both of you. It can't have been easy for you today, and you handled it brilliantly." She threw her arms around her children and held them close.

"I love you, Mum," Imogen whispered.

"I love you too, baby," Alex replied.


End file.
